Rowdy Partnership
Hunters' Den “Hey waiter, would you bring me a barrel of mead, please?” A young waiter took Durga’s ordination, his pen jittering over a blank noted book. He gave a polite “yes ma’am” and turned his tail on the lodge to give his order to the bar below. Durga was surprised to find someone so young and oddly polite in the bar of Char Hakas, probably the second most notorious and scum-filled haven in the New World that side of the Stepping Isle. Most likely, the guy had been hired not many days before, his hairstyle was combed in a way that suited more restaurants than holes and his livery didn’t bear enough stains of blood or beer. A complete 180° from the waiter who had served Durga in her preceding drinks, an ugly mug with mustaches so pointy and greasy he could literally stab you with grim. Dura sighed: at least she didn’t want to break his head like the previous old mug. And the rest of the bar was just as filthy and reeking of bad liquor as one could expect. The sound of broken bottles or a chair bashed on someone’s face cracked at least once in every minute; teeth and curses were flying everywhere like confetti. The only places keeping a semblance of tranquility were those held by the few costumers smart enough to not get wasted on rum or those belonging to the big shots, bounty hunters with a death count measured sometimes in the triple digits whom no one with their wits would ever think to hassle. Within dozens of feet away for Durga, no one was daring to spill a drop of liquor or make the slightest noise, and her size was probably the least important reason. “The liquor is there, ma’am”. A thud announced the coming of the barrel, a massive wooden container holding enough liquor to fill dozens of people at once. Durga held it with one hand, like a tankard, and broke an opening with a tap of her finger: she slowly sipped from the liquid. “His it of your liking, ma’am?” The young waiter stuttered, sweat was already spoiling his hairstyle. “I have to say, truly excellent” Durga licked her lips. “The alcohol-fruit rate is spot on. Brewing a liquor of such quality in a shit hole like this feels like a genuine waste. Give my compliments to your suppliers”. She rested her finger inside the lodge, the pad upwards: laying on it was a bronze coin, topped by many smaller silver ones “The bill is there in bronze coin, while the silver ones are for you”. While beaming the payment, the young waiter’s eyes turned wide open: those disks were worthy of a small fortune, almost the equivalent of a year of payments. With a sum like that, he could have paid some of his fees for his medical degree... and all of that for just doing his job in a halfway decent manner. It didn't feel right to him. “M-miss, I can’t accept this much tip for this simple service…” “I think you should,” Durga returned. “This is a terrible place to work in: every table is smelling of vomit, people are mostly rowdy and violent thugs and I can easily deduce fees aren’t worth the risk of being stabbed on your shoulder or getting glass shards embedded in your skull five days in a week. I apologize if I am underestimating you, but you don’t look like someone cut for being a waiter in a den of assassins: too meek, too feeble, polite. So, whatever your relationship with the bar owner is, I suggest you use the money I’ve given you wisely and thinking of what do about your life: either taking a degree, finding a new job or going to a dojo if you’re fully committed to this line of work. I estimate you won’t survive a week here without an intense training regime”. The woman’s face and tone were completely deadpan: despite the caring intent one could find in her words, she was completely matter-of-fact and that was the rationale behind her words. A core tenet of the Iron Legion was not to let people waste effort in places where they have no talent for and giving them a chance to express their true potential. Durga’s hatred for unfitness, which her father had inculcated her since her womb, was much more obvious motivation than any charitable push. Regardless, the waiter blushed for the gratitude. He blabbered sincere thanks, bowed down to the mercenary and turned his back. Durga stretched her back in the sofa, popping out a bit of the stress her place was giving him. Barring the surprisingly high quality of the liquor, she couldn’t understand how anybody could enjoy these levels of ruckus. How much she missed turning in her training chamber or reading some book on the quiet beaches of Midium; she had work to do first, regrettably, and the person she searched for didn’t come yet. Few minutes passed, Durga had finished her liquor to the last drop. She counted the openings and closings of the door to kill some time: one and two, and the person to see wasn’t yet in sight. A third time, and he finally entered. He ordered something to drink and waited patiently on a small table; everyone in the nearby stood up and drifted away from the guy as if he had leprosy. Durga took advantage of the space to saunter with more ease to the man. While giants weren’t that unusual to see in Char Hakas- the inn was built to accommodate people of Durga’s size- she still stood out considerable from the crowd and had to take each step carefully to not cause any noise. No one was that stupid to remain in her way, though. “Excuse me, mister… Salsanzamorloi?” The name slurred a bit in Durga’s tongue: it was certainly not a word common to pronounce. “Can I disturb your drinking for a moment?” Belias looked like a composed professional on the outside, but deep inside his bandages, he was terrified so badly he had almost forgotten why he'd come here. A friend had told him he should try and socialize with other bounty hunters, but now he was sure it was a bad idea. The atmosphere of the place sent a shiver down his spine, and the customers seemed like Neanderthals, Belias thought a lot of them might be as bad as the pirates they hunted. He nervously gulped down his drink, he'd asked for tea but he wasn't sure what his drink actually was, and decided he probably didn't want to know. The waiter who gave him the drink laughed to himself. He tried to ignore it. Then someone said his name. His terror reached new heights, he froze solid with fear. He slowly lowered his drink down, and pulled the bandages around his mouth back tight. He slowly turned to face the woman who called his name. "Yes?" he said succinctly. He would of spoken more, but he was cut off somewhat by the size of the person who identified him. He'd seen giants before. At least a few. But only from a distance. He'd never talked to one before. A hundred fairy tales about giants played through his head, stories parents told their kids to make sure they behaved. He assured himself that they were just that, fairy tales and that giants were probably reasonable individuals just like anything else. Durga lowered her head, so she could have a slightly more private conversation. The difference between the two in size and presence were massive. Durga was a towering figure, with a fit frame which exuded health from each pore: while not short from a human perspective, Belias looked gaunt and feeble, a rat wrapped in bandages. Her breath alone would knock him out of the position or inundated him with the warm odor of apple and alcohol; so, she was careful to keep enough distance between the two to not overwhelm the mousy man too much. "I know that you are a bounty hunter with a rising reputation; I am aware, in fact, that you are a member of the Bounty Hunter Union". She lift her left sleeves, showing that, on her forearm, was tattooed a string of eleven numbers, preceded by a three letters single, each of them big as a human's head. "BOU-451238654981", she spelled out: she could see a vacancy in Belia's red glossed eyes, so she had to be sure he would understand her in case of total or partial blindness. "We are colleagues, you and I. And the Union had signaled you as being in the same case as mine. I would like to discuss with you about the specifics on my table, if you don't mind". Durga turned her eyes back to crowd of customers, which gleamed of blood spilled fresh. Her voice boomed through the bar, resounding with strictness and authority. "Spies and kill-stealers will be found and disposed in the swiftest and most merciless way". She stared on the ground, addressing a bunch of drunks who were disgustingly ogling at her white gown with an beastly growl. "Go and do the perverts outside. If someone dares stare my ass again, I shall catapult theirs straight to the deepest corner of hell. Understood?" Quietness fell on the bar for a moment: the few closest to Durga put a dozens of meters between themselves and the giantess. Alone with her companion, Durga placed the palm of her hand on ground level, in front of Belias table. "I'd rather discuss our contract on my couch, if you don't mind. There's plenty of space for you, and it more comfortable for me than standing up and exposing my butt to these pigs". Relief flood over Belias like a wave. His assigned partner. That's what she wanted with him. He pulled his cape tight around himself. He looked around at the oglers, the face painted on his bandages an easily misinterpreted terrifying grin. Some people had no manners at all he thought to himself. He looked at her outstretched palm. "I think I'll walk thank you all the same," he said nonchalantly, he sounded confident and perhaps a little prideful, although in truth he was simply scared, as she had just made a threat to throw people to hell, and didn't want to walk right onto her throwing hand. Inside his coat, he pet Sammy nervously. He quickly scanned the building with observation haki, and located the couch large enough to host Durga and walked over. "My code is BOU-66671317666, I am indeed Salsanzamorloi Belias. And might I ask what your name is madam?" He asked, remembering his manners. "Durga, mister Belias". Durga tipped on her left gauntlet: its texture, normally a single piece of completely smooth silver metal, gained a lighter hue in the exact points Durga was touched. When she completed a four digits sequence, the entire gauntlet glowed; from the source of light emerged the holographic representation of a bounty, picturing a young woman with vermilion eyes, the same bloody hue which painted Durga's own eyes when she was at the peak of her fury. "I am in a hunt for Marques Yesenia, one of the Zodiacs of the Redbeard Pirates before their captain disbanded the crew. According to my sources, she is a rather master user of a Logia fruit pertaining to blood. That vampire-woman had made lifeless husks out of countless people; and if I am not mistaken, she is your target as well, am I correct?" Belias nodded. "No need for mister." he said with a smile. "A friend of mine thought she'd be a good next target for me." He said, before staring contemplatively at the picture. "She seems so young. I wonder what made her go down the wrong path. Well, not that it really matters. All who bare the title of pirate are my enemy. Her sins have been judged with a bounty, and it's time it was collected." He tucked his hat. "Do you have any clues to her current whereabouts, or do we have to start from scratch? I did some checking myself already, but didn't turn much up." Belias asked. Belias knew information gathering was an often overlooked part of bounty hunting. You had to research your target, know them inside and out and pick if and when to strike. Too many bounty hunters had taken on foes above their level been taken out themselves. Belias however, had managed to defeat notable targets by being cautious. "We've got more than few clues, but it was not an easy task. Yesenia seems to have all but stopped any kind of criminal activity after the disbandment of her fruit. However, we know for certain that she came from a family of underworld merchants coming from the North Blue. No one but her has survived; according to our records, they all died in a single night, a pool of blood being all that remained of them. I am almost certain Yesenia was culprit: they were probably trying to do shitty things to her like having her sold to the black market. If I can bet a thing, Yesenia is not too far from her nest. The place in the North Blue she hearkens from is a peaceful land, alien to great conflicts marrying our world: in a word, the perfect place for those who want to keep a low profile. I can also sense that she might have developed some kind of a home… sickness. She feels pretty nostalgic, from the bounty poster”. Durga stared at the crimson eyes of the criminals: those two rubies were shimmering of a life of blood spilled in every corner of the sea, the gaze of a seasoned killed. The giantess could relate to that gaze; but what struck her attention was, despite how naturally bright they looked like, those eyes had no gleam on their own, as if the entire world couldn’t offer anything before eyes. Those were eyes full of longing for a life bygone and never to return, silently crying for the loss of her innocence; eyes exposing a soul in sorrow and regret. Durga felt… pity for the young woman, she could tell how suffering she was felling. But she swallowed her merciful drive: orders in the Legion, orders from her father, they were absolute tenets. Emotions should never get in the way of one’s mission, for only an absolute drive could bring to reality the wonderful vision of doctor Weil. Durga would never stop until her father's dreams were achieved, no matter the price to pay. “We will begin our search in the island of Ilk, a neighbor country to the place Yesemia was born. Though first, I would suggest a spar between us. It will be a great way to measure up our skills compared to each other, so to improve our synergy". "A spar you say?... Getting a grasp of each other's abilities would be useful, but my abilities shine most outside of a direct fight." He said as he drew his Scythe, and let Sammy free to the ground. "Do you have a place in mind? We can't do it in here." "Certainly, there is a desert peninsula the south of Char Hakas, separated from the rest of the island by a hill range. We could perform our routine exercises unperturbed there". Durga's gaze lowered further, below the couch. Staring at Belias' cat playing on the ground. Attracted by her black fur, cute whiskers and adorable meows like a magnet to a dumpster filled with iron. Her reflexes triggered immediately: she picked up the cat, holding her gently with the index and thumb so to not hurt a strand of hair of the creature and bringing close to her cheek. "Soooohhh... adorablee... eh!" Durga's composed nature shone true, allowing to resist the blasting cuteness of the animal for few seconds. Not soon enough that she didn't make a high-pitched shrill which was heard by the entire saloon. She could heard the previously terrified crowd of costumers all laughing in a muffled way: her reputation as an hardass murder had pretty much vanished in a instant. To recover the respect and terror her peer had to her, Durga had to make another of hellish, red-jetted glares. But honestly, how could she get angry in front of such cute, sweet little kitten? '' "What is your cat name?" Durga flat-out implored Belias. "Can I play with her for just few minutes... pleaseeee..." The natural color of Durga's eyes, which normally were like placid prunes, shone as vivid as a amethyst. From her tone and mannerism, it was like Durga had regressed to a less than a six year old little girl. No, six years little girls have usually more restraint: ''but she was in front of a kitten, so who cared? "I do better where there are obstacles I can use to boost my maneuverability, like a forest or city. However, with your size I can see the same area would be disadv-" He was cut off by Durga suddenly picking his off the floor and undergoing a 180 personality shift. Belias was startled, and a little embarrassed. "I think I'll head on ahead. You can come when you're... ready." He said, turning to leave. "Their name is Sammy." He said as he walked out the door. Preparations for a Hunt Recalling what Belias had said her the last night in her cat-loving frenzy, Durga choose a place in the hill range where she could leverage that advantage. The selected spot was on a the largest hill-top, which was known among the locals to be shrouded by a thick forest, sprawling with wildlife. To accommodate Durga during the first part of their training and avoid unnecessary destruction, they used a rather large clearing as a starting point. Sunrise had come not long before, so the air was fresh and the ferns and bushes around them were covered in an abundant dew. "So, you told me that your natural habit is rough terrain, so I figured out this the place I can see what you are made of". She stretched her arms and legs a bit, performing a beginning of a gymnastic routine. Her mass was overwhelming, the sheer force behind her training blew gusts of wind up to the underbrush surrounding the glave. "Also, thank you for making me playing with Tabby yesterday! They are so... sweeettt" Durga pulled off the little cat from her cleavage, in which the creature had peaceful slept the previous night; her smile was suitably feline and mischievous too. She awoke the creature with a kiss on her back, engulfing it all: Tabby ruffled their fur and meowed. While giggling adorably, Durga teased the cat with her large index, on which Tabby rubbed her back on. Despite one day of acquaintance, the two were already inseparable. But, alas, training had to take precedence, so Durga returned back the feline to their owner after affectionately kissing their neck one more. "This will be a game of a stealth, I will try and hide in the brush. You will have to find and catch me before the sun sets. Does that suit you?" Belias expression as ever, could not be read at all underneath his bandages. "That suits me well enough." He said placidly. He looked Durga up and down, wondering how someone of her size could hide. He decided she must have some ability to aid in stealth, perhaps similar to the strange projection she showcased earler. "Do you require time to hide? And what classifies finding you? Do I need to touch you as in hide and seek rules, or do I merely need to locate you?" "That would depend on how you strike your opponent downs. Force me to slow down and find a way to incapacitate me". Durga brought her right hand closer to her chest, giving a slight beat with her palm just above her bosom. A strange light engulfed her, becoming soon so bright everything but her basic silhouette was completely cloaked by it. The shroud of light dissipated through the air just as fast as it had appeared; multiple particles flew from every part of her body and rushed toward her chest, where they were absorbed in it. Releasing only the faintest glow, Durga returned to be visible again: she appeared to be a tenth of her original size, looking like only a somewhat tall woman, considerably shorter than the lanky yet imposing partner She gave Belias a little smirk; she could bet he would never predict how a towering being could turn so small and unassuming. That was a miracle provided by the Legion portentous technology: her LOAD device, with the help of her nanomachines, can convert her physical mass into data and upload in the Legion's network; with that she could blend with human-sized people perfectly, without giving a hint of naturally being as large as a giant. "Now the hunt can begin!" Durga disappeared from the world; she dove into the underbrush, invisible to the eyes of men and not trying to make a sound. Even her aura was suppressed as much as she could so that she would not give away her position to Kenbunshoku. "Catch me, if you can!" Belias was obviously startled and shocked, however, Belias had been in this business long enough to know how to deal with surprises. 'That was likely a Devil Fruit ability. I have no idea what it's powers are though. Until I get more evidence, I should focus my attention on finding her.' He logically assumed. He raised his cloak and looked at the equipment he had stored inside its various pockets. He had a good supply of wire, nails, dolls, his scythe and of course Sammy. "Sammy, your sense of smell is 14 times that of a human, and you spent a good while in her company, can you find her?" In response, Sammy scratched his ears. Not a good response. "Fine, let's split up and search separately for now." He placed one hand on Sammy's head, and the other against his own. "Synchronize". Belias looked up at himself through Sammy's eyes. Belias leaped up high into the air and into the brush. He currently had no clue as to Durga's location. As he rushed through the woods, swinging from trees and branches with his scythe, he set up tripwires at various spots throughout the wood and synchronized each of them so a separate piece of wire on his person. If something triggered one, he'd know and rush back to its location. Meanwhile, Sammy himself rushed through the underbrush, looking for Durga through scent and vision. Hopping from tree to tree, brush to brush, Durga covered a large portion of underforest. Even though she was born the size of a giant, her father had been grooming her in the arts of stealth since the day she could remember. He had thought her how to move like a shadow, how to be invisible, how to make steps that carried no sound. Durga jumps from a treetop to another were carried with the grace of a feather, weightless motions that only true masters of ninjutsu would decipher through. Durga was confident enough about her skill to keep herself relatively on sight compared to his colleague, looking at him while he was busy checking the perimeter. She conceded that his strategy wasn’t half bad either: arranging a net of wires to cover as much hectares of forest as possible, while his adorable kitten would use his superior senses to track down the prey. Though Durga was kinda inclined to kill Belias on spot for this: how could he involve such little, cute creature in a bloodsport that would surely ruffle all their whiskers, if not worse? Thank God she adored Tabby, and would never, ever let any harm falling over the cat. Keeping at bay her desire to pet Tabby once more, Durga danced close to the web of wires, her and hips passing close to each thread but never touching anything, not even by her own air pressure. Durga was confident she could keep that tactic for long, long time, but this would wear inevitably wear down passive foes who runs aimlessly in the forest. To be an effective hunter, one must deal with preys much eager to invert their position and strike you down the moment you don’t notice them. To make sure Belias was ready for the hardships waiting for him, she activated another functionality of her NRA-enchantment: a cloaking technology based on her colleague and friend’s Devil Fruit Power. Though not quite as good as Cynthia’s abilities, she could turn completely invisible to any human eye. Giggling a bit, she came closer to the witch-hunter, hanging from a higher position. Quiet, quiet, making no sound, she could almost touch him. When she felt close enough, she broke in a sprint, leaving leaves jittering from the recoil.